Where is your barbershop?

At a TEDxSomerville event in the Spring, I heard a tremendous speaker who really made me think. He was Clarence Smith, Jr., a jovial black man with a bald head that glistened under the lights. Smith spoke about barbershops. Every week, regardless of where he is, Smith visits a barbershop. He described the wisdom that is shared among the men in these shops through informal conversations, across individuals of all ages.There are no boundaries, no clichés, no generational divides. Wherever he is, when he is in a barbershop, he feels like he is home.

While I have a lot of hair, I am pretty confident that I will never be a regular at any barbershop, let alone beauty salon or spa. So I started thinking about what my barbershop equivalent is. Where can I go and always feel at home? Do I have a place where I can show up and almost instantly feel woven into conversation, into a community? Where there is no judgment and no divide?

There is a coffee shop I go to that feels like my coffee shop, but I rarely speak to anyone there outside the people behind the counter when I place my order and exchange pleasantries. I have a yoga studio I frequent, but I usually just rush in to class and then rush right out again.

So, where is my barbershop? Ironically, it seems the more technologically connected we are the less connected we really are, real and in person. Maybe we need to start a new trend of geo-connection. And not Foursquare or some other app that tells you where your friends are, but real, face-to-face, old-fashioned sit-down communication and gatherings.

As we work and socialize more virtually, where do we go for “water cooler conversations?” Where is our barbershop? Where do we share wisdom and make connections? What will become of the barbershop phenomenon? Where can and will we convene for casual face-to-face conversations with friends we have not yet met?

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Testimonials

If it weren’t for my sister, I never would have gotten to know and work with Camille. My sister is part of Fidelity Women’s Networking Group and she had Camille present at one of her seminars. Based on my sister’s enthusiastic clamoring aboutCamille, I linked up with her and invited her to lead a presentation at Working Mother Media’s Work Life Congress. Camille led, hands down, one of the most popular sessions.

I can see why my sister raved about Camille and why our participants did too. She is charismatic, engaging, funny, and impactful. She integrated neuroscience and psychology with real-life practical applications to deeply engage her audience and lead them in active learning. Most important, participants left with specific pathways to drive change. Simply put, she was amazing.

Camille’s presentation on Mastering Female Leadership was dynamic, engaging and insightful. Her content resonated with women across multiple GE businesses and experience levels, helping us identify opportunities to become more effective leaders. Many of us wanted to hear her speak longer, so much that we are looking forward to bringing her back to speak again.